Staycation Summer 2010: Thrift stores and pools

Hannah had programming yesterday morning and we dropped her off and went to the Salvation Army with my friend Lisa. It was actually quite pleasant, considering some other adventures I've been on when Mom is ready to shop.

We found numerous things including some Bill Cosby LP's and an old umbrella to do a door hanging project from Midwest Living a month or so ago.

The plan was to go to the Hands on Museum when we picked up Hannah, but instead we ended up going swimming. Joel even took off early and joined us at the pool. It was short lived, as the thunderstorm rolled in pretty quickly that afternoon. But it also went away in plenty of time for us to go to the Wednesday evening campfire at church. Overall, it was a wonderful day. Here are some picture highlights from the campfire

Bocce, hotdogs, and marshmallows

Sweet Granma

Day-O!

The clouds were great!

Comments

KAF No-Fuss Focaccia

I really like making bread. It's fun to get your hands dirty, but I understand that yeast is a scary thing for people who don't have experience with it. Somehow, I started using it when I was young and too immature to understand the fear that comes along with wasting time, money and energy. I had time and energy in abundance. My first real forte into baking was in the 7 th grade. I must have cooked before then because I choose to see which flour rose the highest using a cinnamon roll recipe. I made a lot of cinnamon rolls that year and when I turned in my report, there were questions asked of me that I had no idea what she meant. Questions about the weather and the heat of the oven. Things that I didn't know could make a difference in the baking of bread. Lots has happened since that first memorable baking. Today, I invited a friend over to make bread. I was kind of concerned about the strength of the yeast, because we bought a huge stash of it last year someti

Tasty Tuesday: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I've had loaded baked potato soup on the menu most of the month of November, not really knowing when I was going to make it. Last night was the night. I started with this recipe from Betty Crocker as an idea but as I saw that it served 15 and looked at the various quantities while I cooked, some things changed, and wanted to share the final recipe here so you can enjoy it and I won't forget it. Loaded Baked Potato Soup serves 3 with seconds and a serving left over 1/2 package of bacon 1 small onion chopped 3 cups chicken broth (I use Better Than Boullion) 2 large baking potatoes, peeled, cubed 2 tbsp butter 2 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour 2 cups milk divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2teaspoon freshly ground pepper A generous helping of sour cream 4 oz sharp Cheddar cheese shredded (half a block) separated 2 sliced green onions separated In skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 6 to 7 minutes or until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon; set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons d

Project 52 Crossword Puzzle

Hannah and I had the car on Thursday and since it was officially my turn to plan date night, she and I hit the store. We went to Target which has those great dollar bins right when you enter the store. I found a cross word puzzle and some water balloons. My thoughts were to make some chocolate bowls with the water balloons and do a crossword while we waited for them to harden. Well, I got the idea of orange truffles while I was sitting around that afternoon and went to see if we had any of the stuff that would make it and I kind of had it. So, I made up some truffles and then we covered them with chocolate that night and they were so tasty. We made it through one crossword puzzle and cheated very little :-D It was fun working on it together and some of the clues and words were a little ludicrous. All in all not a bad date for a buck and some pantry raiding. In case you are interested in the dessert, I took the McCormick Eggnog Truffle recipe and modified it by omitting the n

Tina The Storyteller

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